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Garuda Indonesia mulls STOL aircraft for remote operations

Garuda Indonesia (GA, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) is considering acquiring STOL-capable (Short Take-off/Landing) aircraft as it seeks to expand its coverage to airfield's whose runways are restricted to 1,200m at most.

According to Bisnis news, President Director of PT Garuda Indonesia, Arif Wibowo, told a press conference last week that government had tasked the carrier with carrying out market research to see whether or not services to remote communities could be commercially viable.

Wibowo said that analysis had shown there to be at least 76 such airfields around Indonesia presenting a total market catchment of 2.5-4 million potential passengers per annum. Of those seventy-six, sixty would require the STOL aircraft, he said.

According to the ch-aviation aircraft database, the smallest aircraft currently in service with Garuda are the ATR72-600 and the CRJ-1000.

Intra-regional flights in Indonesia are generally carried out by smaller operators such as Air Born, Airfast Indonesia, Aviastar Mandiri, and Trigana Air Service which use DHC-6-300/400 equipment. However, regional governments are often required to provide financial assistance given the thinness and seasonality of the routes.

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Under the terms of the deal signed in Jakarta on Wednesday, November 9, Citilink's oversight will also include Sriwijaya Air Group's financials.

"This joint venture is intended to help Sriwijaya Air Group improve its operational and financial performance by helping Sriwijaya Air to fulfill their commitments or obligations to third parties, including those within the Garuda Indonesia Group," Managing Director of Garuda Indonesia, Ari Askhara, said in a statement.

He added that Garuda Indonesia Group would benefit from the synergies the joint-venture will bring to both companies including greater network reach and increased capacity. The possibility of Garuda gaining equity in Sriwijaya will be discussed at a later point in time.

The two groups combined will control a 51% share of the Indonesian market that has thus far been the domain...

The Indonesian Ministry of Transportation has begun an audit of Lion Air (JT, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) and has also started impromptu checks of various other Indonesian carriers following the crash of one of the low-cost carrier's B737-8s on October 29.

A DJPU statement said the audit will include a review of Lion Air's operating procedures, flight crew qualifications, and institutional cooperation. The Indonesian government is also speeding up its checks of all airlines, airports, and navigational aids to check their airworthiness status. As of November 7, the DJPU has conducted in-situ ramp checks of aircraft that belong to Lion Air, Garuda Indonesia, Batik Air, Sriwijaya Air, NAM Air, Wings Air (Indonesia), and Indonesia AirAsia.

"Four days into the review, we have inspected aircraft belonging to seven national airlines and six types of aircraft namely B737-300s, -500s, -800s, -900s, B737 MAX 8s, ATR72-500/600s, and A320-200s. So far, all the results are good and all are airworthy," Director of Aircraft Airworthiness and Operations, Captain Avirianto, said in a statement.